Page 7 of The Lazarus Protocol

Kai started toward the fence.

“Whoops. Kidding. Here we go… One.”

Kai whirled around and started to stomp toward Dan instead. Adam grabbed a strap of Kai’s backpack and stopped him. “Nope.”

“The reading is fluctuating.” Ice started clipping wires in the fence with a pair of pincers, pausing for a couple of seconds intermittently. He cut an opening and checked his meter. “Kai.”

“Go first,” Adam ordered.

Kai went over to Ice, waiting like Ice was his jump master and this was a HALO op. Something they’d actually all lobbied for on this job, because they’d all thought that landing on the roof and going in hot would be far more fun than sneaking in like they were breaking and entering.

In his ear Adam heard, “Security noted the fluctuations in the fence signal.”

“Go,” Ice said.

Ash was next. He waited for the signal, then ducked through the opening in the fence after Kai. Dan raced over from the panel, waving Adam ahead of him.

“Go,” Ice said.

Adam ducked through the opening. Grass became gravel that would alert anyone with ears to them moving across the expanse between the buildings and the fence line. “Double time.”

Kai and Ash set off, jogging toward the door they’d identified as their entry point, over to the east side and almost at the corner of the wide two-story building. Dan would go with Adam, while Ice remained outside to cover their exit—if necessary.

“Security dispatched an officer to investigate,” Marina said in his ear.

“Copy that.” Adam set off with Dan jogging beside him to the door on the west side.

Ice said, “The team is inside the fence.”

“Inside the fence, copy,” Marina responded. “I’m deploying the virus now.”

Adam had his tiny bundle of plastic explosives out before he reached the door. He slapped it next to the handle and pressed the button.

Dan tucked against the wall on the other side of the door.

The charge snapped, puffing out smoke and the smell of burned rubber. Adam pulled the door open, and Dan retrieved what was left of the charge so they left no trace.

Adam ducked into the hall. “Position one, inside.”

The security system, alerted to his entry, flicked on the lights.

Marina said, “I have control of their system. I’m looping the video feeds now.”

Dan patted the back of Adam’s right shoulder, and they proceeded down the hall at a steady pace.

Halfway down, the security guard dispatched to check the fence turned the corner and spotted them. Before he could grab his radio, Adam squeezed the trigger on his shotgun. The beanbag round hit the security guard high on his chest. The impact knocked him back, and his head slammed the wall.

“Guard one neutralized.” Adam proceeded forward, stepping over the unconscious man.

Over the comms he heard, “Entering the west server room.”

“They beat us.” Adam checked the hall first, then turned the corner. He picked up his pace, expecting Dan to laugh, but then wondered why he expected that. The guy didn’t laugh at anything—or, at least, he hadn’t in a long time.

Adam found the server room, checked the handle, and kicked it open for the sake of expediency. Inside were long rows of racks, all humming and flickering lights. He slid out the device that looked like a cell phone from his thigh pocket, along with the cable he plugged into the port Marina had specified in her “Detailed Instructions for Dummies” lecture.

The device flashed, then went black, and tiny green text scrolled down the screen, too small for him to read.

Adam tried not to tap his foot. “Download in progress.”